Home prices rose for the fourth straight month in July, but the seasonal uptick will likely subside toward the end of the summer, according to the latest report from loan data aggregator and analytics firm CoreLogic.
CoreLogic’s Home Price Index showed the increase in July was a slight one, up 0.8 percent from June, and national home prices fell 5.2 percent compared to July 2010. Revised figures for June showed home prices fell 6 percent on a year-over-year basis that month. Much of the yearly decline in July can be attributed to distressed sales. When short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions are excluded, home prices dipped 0.6 percent year-over-year last month.
"While July’s numbers remained relatively positive, particularly for nondistressed sales, which have been stable, seasonal influences are expected to fade in late summer. At that point the month-over-month growth will most likely turn negative," said Mark Fleming, CoreLogic’s chief economist, in a statement.
"The slowdown in economic growth and increased uncertainty caused by the recent stock market volatility will continue to exert downward pressure on prices."
When distressed sales are included, eight out of the 10 largest metro areas in the nation saw yearly declines in July, with double-digit drops in the Phoenix and Chicago metro areas. When distressed sales are excluded, half of the 10 metros saw yearly declines, with Phoenix again the hardest hit.
| Metro area | Single-family homes: % change from year ago | % change from year ago, excluding distressed properties |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Ariz. | -10.8% | -7.9% |
| Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill. | -10.7% | -1.3% |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga. | -6.6% | -1.6% |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. | -6.2% | -4.2% |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. | -5.7% | 0.8% |
| Philadelphia, Pa. | -3.1% | -2.5% |
| Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas | -2.4% | 4.8% |
| Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas | -0.3% | 2.9% |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. | 2.0% | 3.7% |
| New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J. | 2.8% | 4.2% |
Source: CoreLogic
Prices were down from a year ago in 86 of the top 100 markets tracked by CoreLogic, down from 88 in June.
The five states with the greatest year-over-year depreciation in July were Nevada (-12.2 percent), Arizona (-11.9 percent), Illinois (-10 percent), Minnesota (-8.6 percent), and Idaho (-7.8 percent). When distressed sales are excluded, the five states with the greatest depreciation were Nevada (-9.6 percent), Arizona (-8.1 percent), Delaware (-6.5 percent), Minnesota (-5.7 percent), and Michigan (-4.7 percent).
The five states with the greatest year-over-year appreciation were West Virginia (14 percent), New York (3.3 percent), Wyoming (3.2 percent), and Mississippi (2.4 percent), followed by Washington, D.C. (2.3 percent). When distressed sales are excluded, the five states with the greatest appreciation were West Virginia (16.8 percent), South Carolina (5.5 percent), New York (4.1 percent), Wyoming (3.8 percent), and North Dakota (3.6 percent).
As of July, the index has fallen 30.5 percent from an April 2006 peak, and has fallen 20.7 percent excluding distressed sales.
